The Avalonian Avenger
by Navek
Summary: Al Ewing's Mighty Avengers AU. Dane Whitman had not had the best luck as a hero. But in the midst of the Infinity event, he has found himself fighting with old friends and old powers. This might just be the break the Black Knight needed.


**Author's Note 1: Yahoo! My first story takes place in the main Marvel Universe and during one of my favorite runs of my favorite writers featuring a hero who doesn't get the love he deserves!**

 _Chapter 1: Against the Tide_

'Ah, New York. It seems only yesterday I was living the mansion.' A man in his mid-thirties with black hair and wearing a brown jacket, white shirt, and jeans walked the streets. As he did, he smiled as he looked at the familiar skyline. 'I wonder if Sal's is still open. It's been...what? Five years?'

But suddenly, his and the crowd's attention was caught by a chase occurring between the police and...someone he didn't recognize with blue rocket-powered armor. He holding a sack of money in one hand and a gun in the other.

"Bee! Ell! You! EE! B-L-U-E! Blue Streak!" The armored man yelled as he sped off. The rolled his eyes and started chasing via the sidewalk.

'What is it with this city and supervillains?' The man thought to himself as Blue Streak jumped over a police car and rambled. Something about Katy Perry. But as he chased the armored villain, he noticed a familiar looking streak of light and smiled. 'No bloody way.'

"But we can categorically state that that there's nothing faster than..." The light then moved closer toward Blue Streak, getting his attention. "Wait, what the hell?"

And just as the man suspected, the light materialized into an african-american woman with short brown hair and a full-body white & black spandex costume with a star in the middle.

"Actually? Light is faster." She said as the villain screamed. "Much faster. About a quarter of a million miles per second faster. You know what else is that fast? X-Rays, microwaves, gamma radiation. Anything on the electromagnetic spectrum. Anything I can be. There are a lot of ways this can end, Blue Streak. Most of them involve a lead coffin."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" The crook yelled as he tried to outrun her to no avail.

"But I'm trying not to be the scary-angry lead coffin lady anymore. I'm trying to rebrand." She said as she held out her hand. "So I'm going to be nice to you."

And with a snap of her fingers, the costume-clad woman created an explosion of light, knocking the would-be crook into a car and taking him out of the fight. The police were quick to arrest him while the man followed the streak of light. This lead him to a shop called Luc Costumier, which appeared to be some kind of superhero costume shop. Taking a breath, he entered the store.

"In fact, I 'ave un trench zat would set off ze whole ensemble to perfection..."

"No more trench coats, Luc." The woman interrupted the french costume designer.

"Looking good, C.M." The man said, getting her attention. "Or do you go still go by Photon?"

"Dane!" The woman exclaimed before giving him a hug, which he returned.

"Good to see you too, Monica." Dane stated, happy to see his former teammate.

"And for the record, I go by Spectrum now." The brown-haired woman replied. "So, what brings you back to the states? I thought you were with MI:13."

Hearing the name of his former team brought his smile down a bit. "Things have been...complicated. I figured I needed a bit of vacation."

Monica noticed this and asked. "The Ebony Blade?"

"No, I got rid of that damn thing a while ago." He stated. The two proceeded to talk, catching each other up on recent events.

"So how come you didn't join Steve and Tony's 'Avengers World' project?" Dane asked.

"I'm still trying to rebrand myself." Monica replied. "Plus, between you and me, I trust Tony Stark as far as I can throw him."

Dane nodded, thinking back to the whole Civil War incident. However, any future conservation was interrupted by shaking and loud sounds.

"Was that an explosion?" He asked.

"Explosions, plural." Monica stated with a determined expression. "A couple of of blocks away, Times Square or thereabouts. People are going to need help."

"I'm coming with you." Dane stated, surprising his fellow hero.

"I thought you didn't have the Ebony Blade?"

"I don't." He said before pulling out a crystal blue amulet from his shirt. The amulet was shaped like a sword & shield. "But I found this in my closet." He placed the amulet around his neck before speaking a single word.

 _ **"AVALON!"**_ In a flash of blue light, Dane was now dressed in elaborate black armor with red and yellow highlights, a matching helmet, a kite shield on his left arm and a silver sword strapped on his left waist. 'Like putting an old glove.'

Seeing this brought a smile to Spectrum's face and the two existed the shop. They looked up and saw a massive armada of space ships in the sky and several purple-skinned alien foot soldiers marching in the streets while they blasted stuff apart. Dane held his arm out and exclaimed, " _To me, Strider!_ "

A blue rune circle appeared next to him and a white pegasus with armor that matched Dane's emerged from it.

"Let's do this!" Spectrum stated as she transformed into light and took off. Dane followed quickly by mounting Strider.

"Good to see you, old friend." Dane said to his steed, the pegasus nodding in response before taking off after his friend. He looked ahead and saw that she was already engaged in a battle alongside Luke Cage and Spider-Man.

"'A guy.' Pathetic." Spider-Man stated as he punched one of the aliens. "Give me five seconds and I'll have this whole area crawling with..."

Dane then noticed one of the aliens about to attack Spidey from behind and jumped off Strider with a yell, pulling out his sword and slicing the alien down the middle, getting everyone's attention.

"...my people." The spider-themed hero ended in astonishment.

With a fling of his wrist, Dane got the alien blood off his blade before addressing the alien women he assumed was the leader.

"Alright, you alien scum! I'm going to give you one chance! Leave this planet or you suffer the wrath of the Black Knight!"

"Holy...Dane?" Luke asked.

"Long time no see, Luke." The armored hero responded. "So, anyone want to call the Avengers for back-up?"

"Uh...they're in space." Spider-Man quietly admitted.

"What?" Luke, Spectrum and Black asked in shock.

"The small soul speaks truly." The blue-skinned woman stated with a sinister smile. "Your mother birds have fled the nest to sit on other eggs. This is a doomed world now. An Earth without Avengers."

"That's how it is, huh?" Luke quietly said before glaring at the alien with a determined expression. "Okay. You want Avengers, lady? Take a good look." He stated, motioning to the other heroes. "We're the Avengers."

"Hell yes." Black Knight said with a smirk.

And thus, the battle commenced once more. Spectrum blasting enemies from afar, Spider-Man using his acrobatic abilities and web shooters, Luke punching while his unbreakable skin protected him from laser blasts, and Black Knight taking to the sky on Strider. Using the Shield of Night, he blocked energy shots and channeled the energy into his blade, focusing it into a large energy blade. With Strider flying at high speeds, they approached a ship and he stabbed into hull, creating a massive cut as the crossed the ship, splitting it in two before it exploded.

The Black Knight and his steed continued to take apart the airborne opponents until he noticed the alien leader throwing a spear at Spectrum. Much to his shock, the spear keep up with her speed before stabbing into her, causing her to yell in pain.

"Monica!" The Black Knight yelled in concern, racing down to her while the alien leader started to beat down on Luke. The armored figure jumped off Strider and approached his downed teammate. The white & black clad heroine was floating and fluctuating frequently. "Monica, are you okay?!"

"D-D-Dane." Monica groaned. "I-it hurts. Every-y thing h-h-hurts."

'How is this happening?' Dane thought to himself, tapping into his scientific side. 'Monica's basically living light. What kind of weapon could do this to her?'

"Rend the armored man!" An alien soldier holding an energy axe yelled as he charged at the Black Knight. However, Dane quickly turned and blocked the attack, the shield absorbing the energy before slicing the alien's hands off with a energy slice.

"No Pasaran! No Pasaran!" Dane turned and saw a crowd of civilians yelling and throwing stuff at the alien leader.

"Pathetic. You think you can defeat what I am with bricks and bottles? With words?" The alien said as she approached an old woman in the crowd. "Well, go on, old woman. Sing out your little words again. See what happens."

The old woman glared at the tall being before yelling out, "Avengers Assemble!"

"What did you..."

"Avengers Assemble!" Another woman in the crowd yelled out.

"Avengers Assemble!" A man yelled.

"Avengers Assemble! Avengers Assemble! Avengers Assemble!" The crowd cheered over and over, much to Dane's surprise. The last time he was in America, he remembered how the civilian population hated the existence of superheroes. Things truly had changed.

"Be silent! All of you!" The leader yelled. "I will reduce this city to bloody dust and shattered bones and I will have silence..."

"Avengers Assemble." Luke Cage stated as he grabbed her arm before socking her in the jaw. "No more! You hear me? Not while I'm breathing! Not one more life! Not...one...more!" He yelled, punching her between each word. The two began to battle, Spidey and Black Knight noticing small seismic activity.

"Dear God, how hard are they hitting each other?" Spider-Man asked as he webbed up a foot soldier.

"You got a point." Black Knight said as he dueled with an enemy before stabbing it. "This can't just be Luke and the alien lady."

" _You are correct, Pendragon_." A mystical voice stated within Dane's mind.

"That voice..." The armored man whispered. "Lady of the Lake, is that you?"

"And he's talking to himself." Spider-Man groaned. "Great. Just great."

 _"I wish I had better news, noble knight. The barrier between this world and the void is breaking._ " The ethereal voice stated. " _Something is being summoned_."

"What something?" He asked.

" _Use the gifts I gave you, Pendragon. Look beyond the physical plane._ "

Dane did just that, his helmet providing him with mystical vision. And what he saw was several black cracks appearing in the air all over Time Square.

"Guys, we got some serious magic heading our way!" The Black Knight yelled.

" _Enough_." A loud voice yelled out, everyone looking up to sky and seeing a massive hologram of Thanos, the Mad Titan. " _You promised me a dead city, Proxima. Not this...defiance. I have to say, I'm very disappointed_."

"No!" Proxima yelled, stopping her fight with Luke Cage. "There's still time my lord! I can still..."

" _Your time is up, Midnight. Your fun is over. You have a tithe to collect and a prince to kill...and I will brook no more delays."_

"Lord Thanos, please. A few more moments. I can break them for you, destroy them..."

" _Can you?"_ The former welder of the Infinity Gauntlet asked his minion. Proxima knocked Cage away and recalled her spear from within Monica, causing her to yell again.

"The spear tears free, but the poison remains. Living light or no...she will die. In agony. In minutes." Proxima stated as her ship picked her up via a tractor beam. "And believe me, she is the lucky one amongst you."

"This ain't over." A tired Luke stated.

"Perhaps." She said as she looked at the four Avengers. "If you somehow survive what the Maw has planned...I will find you again. All of you. If not...just remember, as your soul burns and all hope rots to nothing...I would have made it quick."

And the alien woman left, taking her army with her.

"Well...that was ominous." Black Knight stated.

"Okay. Webs, you're the scientist. Get up there and see what's happening to Monica." Luke ordered. "Dane, you said something before about serious magic?"

"That's right." Dane said, putting his worry about Monica aside for now. "My armor gives me a sort of Magic Vision. And right now, I'm seeing cracks appearing in reality all around us."

"So what do we do?"

"Not sure. We could try calling Doctor Strange or some other magician but..."

 **BEFORE**

"...did anyone else hear that?" Dane asked in shock.

 **ALL WAS**

"What...?" Luke asked.

 **I WAS**

The cracks in reality started to break apart as the streets crumbled underneath as well

 **BEFORE TIME WAS**

Massive tendrils started emerging from the cracks.

 **I WAITED**

The massive limbs wiggled around as the main body appeared.

 **I FED ON THE SCREAMING SOULS OF UNIVERSES**

 **I DRANK THE SPOILED MILK OF DEAD STARS**

 **I AM THE EMPTINESS OUTSIDE ALL UNDERSTANDING**

The creature's massive eye opened up, staring into the souls of the heroes.

 **I AM SHUMA-GORATH**

 **AND THIS WORLD IS MINE**

"...We're f*^ked." Spider-Man stated in fear, his mind barely registering what he was seeing.

"No we're not!" Black Knight exclaimed. "Spidey, how's Monica?"

"Oh, right!" The spider-themed hero stated, going back to checking on the groaning heroine. "Proxima Midnight's staff corrupted her light-form, Mr. Knight. She's dying. If I had more time, perhaps I could...

 **YOU WILL HAVE TIME**

 **ENDLESS EONS**

 **SCREAMING MY NAME**

Shuma-Gorath unleashed a tentacle and wrapped it around Luke Cage, the hero for hire struggling against it.

 **YOU**

 **I CAN TASTE A NEW SOUL ON YOU**

 **BARELY FORMED**

 **SUCCULENT**

 **"DANIELLE"**

"That's more than enough out of you." A newly arrived hero (an older african-american man in a blue & white costume with matching cape) said as he flew through the monster's main body, causing it to fall. The man floated down toward them. "Sorry I'm late, gentlemen. I don't think we've actually met." He turned to Luke. "Mr. Cage, isn't it?"

"Uh..." Luke said, shocked by what just happened.

"Blue Marvel. But Adam is fine. So, can anyone give me a sitrep on this?"

"I can." Black Knight said, approaching the veteran hero as he landed, looking at the widening cracks with his magic vision. "It's called Shuma-Gorath. The thing you just made mince-meat out of was its physical manifestation. Its Astral self is still trying to break into our reality. If we work fast, we can stop before it fully breaks through. By the way, the name's Black Knight."

"Good to meet you, Black Knight." Blue Marvel responded.

"Dr. Brashear?" Spider-Man said, getting the caped hero's attention as he was sticking to a building near the fluctuating Monica. "Dr. Brashear, I'm a fan of your work. Your recent paper on on Positronium Neutronium alloys was almost up to my standard. And from what I understand of your abilities, you're your own electron microscope. If you could?"

"Yeah...please do..." Monica groaned.

"Of course." The older hero said as he floated up to fluctuating heroine, his eyes turning completely blue. "Let's just take a peek down at the Quark level."

After quickly looking, he spoke up again. "Well, now. That's just not scientifically possible. What seems to be happening is that Ms. Rambeau's photons are being eaten by...Anti-Photons, I suppose I you'd call them."

"But that's impossible." The Black Knight chimed in. "Photons are already Anti-particles."

"I know. But that does give me an idea." Blue Marvel stated before unleashing a stream of blue energy from his hand that surrounded Monica. "I'm going to try to use my antimatter projection abilities to infuse Ms. Rambeau with additional photons, shore up the weakened areas. Hopefully it's keep her alive, maybe even burn the infection out. But...well, there might be side effects."

"Wait, this..." Monica groaned. "Isn't a 'lose your powers of die' deal...because I honestly...don't know which I'd pick..."

'Monica.' Dane thought, saddened by his friend's words.

"Lose your powers? No, nothing like that. I won't lie, it's going to hurt. But...well, you've heard the expression 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'?"

"Just hurry and do it..." Spectrum groaned out.

"Sorry. Finding the right wavelength. Get ready to get stronger." Blue Marvel said with a smile before doing his thing, engulfing Monica in bright light and making the other heroes cover their eyes.

"The (#$% you see in this job." Luke stated.

"Preach." Black Knight replied.

"There. I think you're good to go, Ms. Rambeau." Adam said as the light faded, Monica floating in the air as she gave off an orange glow.

"You just saved my life, Dr. Brashear. It's Monica. Or Spectrum. If you're nasty."

Dane smiled until he noticed that Shuma-Gorath was rebuilding his physical body. "Doc, we got a..."

 **NO**

 **IT WILL NOT HAPPEN TWICE**

The massive eye reformed and unleashed a wave of magical energy with eyes on them.

 **MY SUBSTANCE THICKENS**

 **I GROW MORE REAL**

 **I DETECT ALLIES**

 **NOW I CLAIM YOU ALL**

The gathered heroes turned and saw the surrounding civilians, their eyes turning blanks and tentacles bursting from their mouths.

"I think I'm gonna hurl." The Black Knight stated.

"Damn. That's just messed up." Luke reeled in horror.

 **MINE NOW**

 **AS YOU WILL BE**

 **VERY SOON**

The possessed civilians ran at the heroes, jumping at them.

"I am gonna cut you up and sell you to the fish market..." Luke stated.

"Non-lethal, everybody." Spectrum ordered as she knocked one of them out with a photon blast. "We might still be able to save these people."

"Consider it done." Spider-Man said, using most of his web fluid to tie the enemies up while Black Knight knocked them out with his sword pommel and shield.

"Hey! All you tentacle people!" The heroes turned and saw a young afro-domican man in a yellow costume, gloves, blue goggles, and red chi energy surrounding his fists. Following behind him was a woman in white tiger-themed costume and a green amulet around her neck.

"Don't # {& with the Mighty Avengers!" The young man said as he slammed down, creating a shockwave that knocked the possessed civilians back, the white-clad heroine landing next to him and skillfully taking out the enemies with a combinations of acrobatics and martial arts.

"Mighty Avengers?" Luke asked as his two young charges joined the fray.

"Yeah, you got a hashtag how. It's how we found you." The yellow-clad hero said as he attempted punch the floating eye sigils around them. "Yo, what's up with these eyes? I can't land a punch on this thing.."

"Some kind of magic symbol forming a shield..." Spectrum said before thinking a bit. "Hold the line, everybody. I'm going to try something." She turned herself into light again, surrounding the gathered heroes with purple energy.

"Ms. Rambeau..I mean Monica...what exactly are you..." Blue Marvel asked.

"I'm trying to shape my light-form." Her voice replied from the light. "Copy the symbols exactly. I figure it might buy us a little time..."

"That's completely ridiculous!" Spider-Man yelled out.

"Says the spider totem." Black Knight whispered before looking back at the light shield around them. "So is it working?"

"So far it's keeping the possessed out. But I can't hold it long." Monica replied. "B.K., you sadi something about the astral self..."

"It's the only way to kick Shuma-Gorath out of our dimension." The armored hero stated. "But we're gonna need some serious magic power to battle a god."

"Good thing we got a bigger god." Luke said, confusing the Black Knight as he addressed the younger heroes. "Power Man, White Tiger. You're up."

Dane looked at the aforementioned heroes and activated his mystic vision. Power Man had a following stream of energy moving in and out of him, similar to what he remembered of Iron Fist. 'So he's an environmental chi manipulator.' He then looked at White Tiger...and his eyes widened in shock. 'That'll work.'

 **STRONGER EVERY MOMENT**

 **WHEN I BECOME REAL**

 **I WILL DEVOUR THE HUSKS OF YOUR DEAD DREAMS**

"Charming." Spidey said flatly as Blue Marvel let another wave of energy.

"Monica? I'm going to try to broadcast some more light energy to you, give you a boost."

"Much appreciated Marvel."

"Adam. It's Adam."

As the energy manipulators did their thing, Power Man and White Tiger got ready to strike Shuma-Gorath's astral self, Tiger taking a predatory stance.

"Listen Vic, you have done this before, right?" Luke asked.

"Once. It was king of unfocused though. I mean, I never channeled it or anything, I just..."

"Vic was it?" Dane asked as he placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Just stay calm."

Power Man took a breath and whispered. 'Man, I hope this works.'

"Relax, Power Man." White Tiger said. "I'm the one with the hard job."

" _Pendragon. Now is the time to strike."_ The Lady of the Lake said to Dane's mind. " _Repeat what I say to the young manipulator."_

The Black Knight nodded and started speaking to Power Man, repeating what the Lady was whispering to him.

"Clear your mind. Now, focus on home. Your family. The building you live in. Every stone. Every memory. Move out from there. Streets and landmarks. King Street, Sedgwick Avenue, Zuccotti Park. People and history. New York City. It all has chi. It all has power."

Power Man did just that, focusing his mind and gathering the chi of New York around him.

"Now offer that power to the god inside her." The orange chi flowed from Power Man and seeped into White Tiger, her eyes and necklace glowing green.

 _ **"Hrrrrr...Little...thing."**_ The other-worldly voice spoke using White Tiger's mouth.

 **I**

 **I AM SHUMA-GORATH**

 **SHUMA-GORATH**

 _ **"Oh?"**_ White Tiger said as Black Knight (via his mystic vision) saw the jaw-dropping sight of a massive tiger made of green mystical energy. _**"When humanity first looked into the night, my eyes looked back. When they learned to fear darkness, it was me they feared. When they learned to fight for their lives and their loves and their children, I was the first enemy. Lay your claim to a thousand thousand worlds. THIS ONE IS MINE! FOR AM I THE TIGER!"**_

And with a roar that shook the foundations of reality, the Tiger God leaped at Shuma-Gorath's astral form.

 **NO**

Stabbing with its fangs...

 **YOU CANNOT**

Slashing with its claws...

 **YOU MUST**

And rending with its teeth.

"He's weakened! Spectrum, go for it!" Black Knight yelled as he beheld the battle between gods.

"I'm on it." Monica replied, shifting back to her human form before turning into a streak of light.

 **STOP**

 **I**

 **I AM**

The possessed people held their heads, feeling their master growing weaker.

 **I AM SHUMA-GORATH**

"And I'm Monica Rambeau. Nice big eye you've got there." Spectrum said as she attacked from above. "Makes it easy for the light to get in." And as she said, she entered the beast's eye.

 **NO**

 **NNNN**

The beast wrapped itself protectively as Monica continued. "Your astral body's being torn apart. All you've got left is this shell, the body you made to exist in out reality. It's a nice vehicle, I'll admit. It's it all...working orange, a circulatory system, nerve endings, and lots and lots of brain electricity. Think happy thoughts, Shuma-Gorath. And get the hell off my universe."

With a massive burst of energy, the physical body of Shuma-Gorath blew up but good, the tentacles also disappeared from the civilians.

"Man, I missed being an Avenger!" Black Knight cheered, until the body's blood splattered around and on the team. "Although I can do without the Eldrich guts."

"Huh." Luke Cage said. "You know, I think we just saved the world."

"For the next ten minutes, at least." Monica said as she walked out from the smoke. "That's probably the best we can hope for right now. Once we've taken a moment to catch our breath, we'll need to help with this Thanos invasion that's..."

"Excuse me? Uh, Spectrum?" A brunette woman with glasses asked as she approached the heroes. "Kat Farrell, National Pulse. With a mouth full of demon tentacle." She whispered that last part.

"Looking good, Kat." Luke said the reporter.

"Thanks, Luke." She replied before readdressing Spectrum. "Do you have time to tell us what happened here? Is this an official Avengers unit or..."

"Well, we're not really Avengers." Monica answered.

'Bulls*^t we aren't!' Dane thought to himself. This was the first time in a while that he was actually happy to go into battle, not having to worry about being consumed by blood rage.

"More of an Ad Hoc team-up. Still, we'll be on hand to deal with this current crisis as it...

"Kat?" Luke interrupted, getting the women's attention. "...There's a word we use. Anyone who's ever served as an Avenger, we've spoken that word. Hell, it's a competition to say it. To shout it. Because it is that sacred to what we are and what we do. And that word is assemble."

He turned to his fellow heroes and continued. "When we come together, we're stronger than when we stand apart. That's what it's always been about. We come together to fight what can't be fought alone. To defeat those things in the world that would drag us down, that would make us lesser. Those things no single hero can withstand."

He then turned the civilians watching them. "And by we? I mean all of us. When we make the effort to help those in need, to help each other, to be there for each other, we are all Avengers. You are Avengers."

Black Knight and Spectrum looked at each other and smiled before the superheroine spoke to the crowd and the heroes. "Okay, then. Welcome to the team, everybody. Now let's get to work."

And for the first time in a while, Dane Whitman felt at peace.

 **Author's Note 2: For those who don't know, Dane Whitman AKA The Black Knight is one of my favorite lesser-known Marvel Heroes. He was part of Roger Stern's Avengers line-up, the underated John Ostrander Heroes for Hire run (which introduced the Avalon equipment and Strider) and the awesome Captain Britain and MI: 13. But one of the problems I've had with the Black Knight is that he never lost the Avalonian equipment, he just stopped using it for no reason!**

 **And since it seems like his comic is on the verge of being cancelled, I've decided to right this story with Dane in place of 'Spider-Hero'. After all, this was the series that elevated Monica Rambeau and Blue Marvel to A-listers and as part of the incredible Ultimates book, which you should all be reading.**

 **Anyway, please read and review!**

 _ **Next time: Moving Day**_


End file.
